The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-12-07
What New York City Papers Think Of The
lssu, Presented 10 Congress-.
An Able Message, Placing That BOdy's Plain
Duiy Clearly Before II,
The Democratic Party Given AN Issue and
3 Leader, Both Much Needed"
The Sun, as Usual, 10 not Completely
HRppy-sOms Hints of Free Trade-rhe
Comments OF the London Press.

NEW York, December 6.-The Times in
its editorial on the Presidents message,
will say: "Mr. Cleveland has done an act
of statesmanship in the best sense. Recog-
nizing great dn.y, he has performed 1t
with courage, with firmness, and at the
right time. And he has performed it so
that every honest man must see that it is
an honest act. Judged by any or
dinsry standard Of political expediency,
the Presidents act is inexpedient. He has
forced upon his party an issue as TO which
the party is divided, and so divided
that unless the minority yield, it can
defeat the will of the majority. He has
done this on theeve OF a national contest
in which a considerable number Of men of
influence in the party have been urging
him 10 avoid this issue, and threatening
him and the party with disaster if he did
not avoid It. On the other hand there is
nothing in this issue, thus presented, by
which Mr.. Cleveland could hope to draw
from the Republican party any votes. Nor
this alone, for If the protectionist faction
in the Democratic party carry out their
own desires, or do what they have con-
tinuslly declared they would do, Mr..
Cleveland has done the one thing by which
he could imperil the prospect OF his own
denomination. 1t places Mr.. Cleveland
far above any of the leaders to whom the
Republican party has of late lent a hearing,
and above most OF the leaders OF has own
party."C
The Sun will say: at is not a common
place document, for il is simple, intelligi'
BILE and coherent, and the quality of
brevity is chiefly due to the fact that all
other topics of national interest are dis
mise d in a lump or postponed as inconse-
| quential In the presence of the one prob
| lem of supreme importanee-the question
| of tariff revision, He declares
that the the oreticaI question as between
protection and free trade is entirely irrel-
evsnt,' and yet the most striking and in
terestiDg part of the message is devoted to
| precisely that sort of an argument with
which any free trade Representative
in Congress, or any free
| trade professor in college
1 classroom, or the author of any free trade
text book of political economy, would
begin an attack upon the theory Of pTotec-
ton. This we say, is the most notable fact
about the message. Mr.. Cleveland has
never before in public paper taken sides
| sQuarely upon this question, He has done
so now in a manner that leavs room for no
misunderstanding. 1t is a bold thing to do,
and the President deserves credit for
the plaiDness of his speech. Nobody can
! accuse him of hedging or haggling, or tug
| Cling with words. So far does he 60 upon
the familiar lines of the free trade speeches
in Congress or elsewhere, that we find him
betrayed here and there, no doubt uncon-
| scA usly, into an exhibition of slight irri-
tatlon against American manufacturers as
a class, almost as if they were conspirators
and public enemies"
The World will say: ''The admirable
message of the President has given to the
| Democratic party what it has long lacked
an issue and a leader, The issue is tax
| reform. Tie leader is the President. =
s. 1t can hardly be that the President has
not at this iuncture influence, enough to
secure the union OF the Democrats in the
House upon a measure Of revenue reduc-
tion and tariff reform
The Herald will say: "The message is
an able, conservative and statesmanlike
| document, which, unlike many other
messages, will be read by the people and
! discussed by them. We are glad
to see that he fsvors free wool, which
would give greatly increased and perma.
Dent prosperity to our great wooden in
dusty, and enable our manufacturers in
other branches at the same time
to dispose of large quantities
of their products in wool producing
countries TO the immediate benefit of work
men in almost ali branches OF msnufac-
turs. The message
will not please extremists of either side,
|
we believe, please and satisfy the people
at large. and it puts upon both parties in
Congress the solemn duty to relieve the
CO untry from q most serious danger.
The Tribune says: t'For the first time
in the countrY's history, the Presidents
annual message omlts all reference to the
many grave public interests respecting
which good citizens of all parties agree,
and is exclusively devoted to an issue be-
tween parties. President Cleveland gives
Congress no information about the fish
cry question, the pending negotiations
with Great Britain, or relations with other
foreign powers. The nearest ap-
proach TO this strange performance in the
annual messages of previous Presidents
was when Mr.. Buchanan devoted most Of a
message to a,defense OF his policyin Kansas.
The President can hardly be considered at
tracitve, in the light of its results.
President Cleveland seems refreshiDgly
unaware that his entire message is inspired
by extreme free trade theories. 1t seems
never to have occurred to the President
that foreign prices are, in fact to a large
extent, controlled by the American de-
mand. 1t is hard to understand how the
precedent reconciles his statements re-
specting the surplus revenue with
official reports of his subordinates. The
Treasury Department has within a week
reported that the currency of all kinds in
circulation, outside the treasury, is $52,-
600 coo more than it was five months ago
and $119, 600, 900 more than 1t was seven
teen months ago, and yet the President
effirms that withdrawal from the use OF
the peoples, circulating medium
has lately subjected the busi-
ness community to. distress.
But the Presidents gravest error
is the unfounded assumption that need.
full reduction of revenue can be attained
by lowering duties and thus inviting lar.
ger importations. 1t is a message
which his political friends will keenly re-
gret, and which they will labor to explain
away when they come to confront the
voters next fall"